That was what the newspaper headline of the Journal Messenger said in 1983 when they were writing about my current earth sheltered home listing in Manassas. The current owner of the property is only the second owner of the home and she is fortunate enough to have the original photos of the home being built (which I had burned to a CD) and the newspaper articles that were published when the home was first built.
It is amazing to read how the original builder, a man named George Allison, thought that with all of the energy saving features the home provided that there would a lot of these homes built in the near future. Of course we all know that the near future is way past, this was 1983 after all and though there were a few more of these homes built in our area, they did not catch on.
Was it because they were too futuristic for the time? Is it because people think that living underground is dark or damp? Was it banks reluctance to make construction loans on underground homes? It may have been those and so many more reasons. Now with energy conservation and ECO friendly living is at the forefront I am surprised that more people have not taken advantage of the opportunity to build earth sheltered homes.
Everyone who visits the house is completely taken aback by the amount of natural light they find. The entire front of the house is a wall of windows. The only two rooms in the house that do not have a large bank of window are the two bathrooms. Pipes around the perimeter of the home take outside air and pull it underground which raises and lowers the temperature based on the current weather conditions. Since the earth stays a fairly constant 55-60 degrees all year long it does not take much additional energy to heat or cool this home. Amazing in a time where the standard heating and AC bills are through the roof.
I hope that more home buyers will consider learning about sustainability, ECO-friendly building practices and perhaps make the prediction of the original builder of this home come true and consider buying or building an earth-sheltered home.
A few other blogs I've penned regarding green living.
What's Growing on Your Roof
Going Green doesn't require you become a Frog!
How Green is Your Money
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